Morning Bits

Check out Yuval Levin’s takedown of Paul Krugman’s Medicare column. The money quote: “It’s worth taking the trouble to go through his claims point by point not because this column is unusual but because it is perfectly characteristic of the way he and others have approached the debate about Medicare reform. Unable to process what Obamacare on the one hand and the Romney-Ryan proposal on the other have done to the old political dynamics of the debate, they just pretend none of it exists, and then they call their opponents liars.” Indeed.

Fact. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was right about Janesville. “Ryan has been attacked for pointing a finger at Obama for the plant’s shutdown. Critics say Obama did not take office until January 2009, long after the decision had been made to idle the plant. During his 2008 campaign, however, Obama commented that his policies, especially on green technology, could ensure that the plant would stay open another 100 years. ‘Paul Ryan accurately pointed out the broken promises of President Obama,’ [a Wisconsin delegate] said. ‘The message is that the Romney/Ryan administration will take action, not break promises.’”

Check this out as well on the Janesville shutdown. “Mr. Ryan made the factual statement that ‘we were about to lose a major factory’ (our emphasis). Basic comprehension of human language didn’t deter Obama campaign functionary Stephanie Cutter from claiming on MSNBC Thursday that ‘There’s no delicate way to put this, but he lied. He blatantly lied—and brazenly.’ . . . Mr. Ryan wasn’t saying Mr. Obama should have saved this particular plant, as if it were akin to the sea levels that he promised to command in his inaugural address. Mr. Ryan was mocking the president who promised on the record and apparently believed he could save the plant.” Read the whole thing.

Fact. Chris Matthews has no impulse control. Really, is this MSNBC’s desired image?

Check on Obama’s latest indication of nonsupport for Israel. “In remarks to journalists in London quoted by the Guardian, General Martin Dempsey warned that any Israeli attack on Iran would ‘clearly delay but probably not destroy Iran’s nuclear programs.’ He also said economic sanctions on Iran were having an effect and needed more time to work, but that the good they were doing ‘could be undone if [Iran] was attacked prematurely.’ And to underscore the firmness of his opposition to an Israeli strike, the Chairman added that ‘I don’t want to be complicit if they choose to do it.’ . . . . Since coming to office, Obama Administration policy toward Israel has alternated between animus and incompetence. We don’t know what motivated Gen. Dempsey’s outburst, but a President who really had Israel’s back would publicly contradict it.”

Fact. President Obama has failed to isolate Iran. “The 120-nation Nonaligned Movement handed its host Iran a diplomatic victory on Friday, unanimously decreeing support for the disputed Iranian nuclear energy program and criticizing the American-led attempt to isolate and punish Iran with unilateral economic sanctions.”

Check our this bizarre assertion. David Brooks: “[T]here is a flaw in the vision the Republicans offered in Tampa. It is contained in its rampant hyperindividualism. Speaker after speaker celebrated the solitary and heroic individual. There was almost no talk of community and compassionate conservatism.” Well, except for the last night of the convention and the party nominee’s entire life, both of which exemplify caring communities and communal service to one’s fellow man.

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Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.